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Motion-detector scare was false alarm

SEPTA employee reportedly admits using device so he could sleep on the job.

May 25, 2004
1 min to read


A motion detector discovered May 5 on rail tracks in Philadelphia was not part of a terrorist plot. An investigation by the FBI determined that the device was placed there by a rail worker to warn him of approaching supervisors. The worker, a night-shift electrician for the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), told the FBI that the motion detector was for his "personal use," apparently to alert him of approaching foot traffic while he slept on the job. SEPTA officials said there was not a wider problem of employees sleeping on the job.

Topics:Rail

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